1 of 2 | The Trump campaign on Tuesday filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission accusing Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign of “a brazen money grab” for taking money that was raised for President Joe Biden’s re-election bid. Photo by Tannen Maury/UPI |
License PhotoJuly 23 (UPI) — The Trump campaign on Tuesday filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission, accusing Vice President Kamala Harris‘ presidential campaign of “a brazen money grab” for taking funds that were raised for President Joe Biden‘s re-election bid.
“Kamala Harris is seeking to perpetrate a $91.5 million heist of Joe Biden’s leftover campaign cash — a brazen money grab that would constitute the single largest excessive contribution and biggest violation in the history of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, as amended,” the complaint states.
The FEC complaint comes after Biden announced he would withdraw from the presidential race on Sunday, and his campaign account changed its name to “Harris for President” on Monday.
The complaint, first reported by The New York Times, argues moving the money intended for the Biden campaign over to Harris is a form of fraud and should be blocked. Instead, the Trump campaign is demanding Biden be forced to refund contributions.
The Harris campaign “is in the process of committing the largest campaign finance violation in American history and she is using the commission’s own forms to do it,” Trump campaign counsel David Warrington wrote in the complaint, which also calls for a criminal investigation.
“The commission must not and cannot sit idly by while one candidate takes nearly one hundred million dollars from the authorized committee of another, in violation of the Act and the will of the donors who gave the money in the first place,” the complaint states.
Since launching Monday, the Harris campaign broke fundraising records with more than $80 million in its first 24 hours.
Harris campaign spokesperson Charles Lutvak said Tuesday the FEC complaint is baseless as he pointed to Harris’ early fundraising haul.
“Team Harris will continue to build on our more than 250 coordinated offices and more than 1,300 coordinated staffers across the battleground states — just like we built on the $240 million cash on hand that we had at launch this week, raising $100 million in our first 36 hours and signing up 58,000 volunteers,” Lutvak said in a statement.
Shortly after Biden announced Sunday he would withdraw from the race for president, Trump argued in a post on Truth Social that the Republican Party also should be “reimbursed for fraud.”
“So, we are forced to spend time and money on fighting Crooked Joe Biden, he polls badly after having a terrible debate, and quits the race. Now we have to start all over again,” Trump wrote.
“Shouldn’t the Republican Party be reimbursed for fraud in that everybody around Joe, including his doctors and the fake news media, knew he was not capable of running for, or being, president,” Trump added. “Just askin’?”
